In 2018, it seemed harder and harder to keep this things up, whether it was because of the substandard music that passed for pop (most of it, in my opinion..there was some good stuff in that arena), or even the dullness of some of the alternative and country product out there, could possible be it. Maybe working nights (as I have done since April of 2016) has taken its toll on me, as half of the following days consists of one thing......sleep! I just didn't see any justification in listening to anything new when I had a lifetime wealth of old music to explore.
And then some great songs come out and all of a sudden I'm interested again and my enthusiasm returns. And that makes it worthwhile. Here's how the year went...
JANUARY: Sadly 2018 for my blog started off on the wrong foot. My Mom, who had been ailing but getting by ok in her condo, went to the hospital just a couple days after Christmas last year and never made it back home, passing on January 4th this year. Thus, the first month of the year, my music and other hobbies like geocaching, was put on hold to mourn, as well as to clean out her condo with other members of the family.
FEBRUARY: I finally did get my first blog off the ground in early February, which was a tribute to my Mom and her love of music. There were many "likes" and responses to it on Facebook; BlogSpot shows over 2500 views (which I can't believe that its true, but I'm sure it got over 200 "real' ones. Music-wise, we got off to a nice start when I did get things up and running: Ed Sheeran, coming off my number one song for 2017 with "Shape of You" (and also topping my 2015 year-ender with "Thinking Out Loud"), started off 2018 the same way with "Perfect". That song had just finished a six week run atop the Billboard Hot 100 as well, and I thought it would be a great year for music. That would not happen; in fact, until Maroon 5's "Girls Like You" and Drake's "In My Feelings" (Billboard's 'song of the summer') made a small dent later on in the year, one of them even brushing my top 50.
Another characteristic of this year was that I really didn't add many songs to my list. It did seem like it, but that's because many other songs quickly fell off my list. There were no "Tremors" (my version of "bubbling under") at all this year as many of the songs on the SNS 100 stayed on fumes, i.e., had no more 'favorite points". Christmas songs from last season stayed on the chart in some cases, into April. I did track the new single by up and comer Christine Taylor and her single, "American Dreaming". She did make inroads on Radio Disney country, but by year-end, with another song "Loser", she still couldn't find Billboard's country (or pop) chart......Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats had a good year here; and in February their lead single from Tearing at the Seams, "You Worry Me", hits the chart. Other songs moving up that month were Tennis' "Modern Woman", and on a national basis, Alice Merton's "No Roots".
MARCH: The blog slacked off again in March, combining two weeks and publishing only two in the month, just talking about new music, briefly as well since it was taking up too much time. Moon Taxi's "Too High" led my list but only 83 songs had points.
APRIL: a better month as I blogged about some vintage music from bands that didn't get any respect in my opinion, from Paul Revere & the Raiders, to Tommy James & the Shondells, and on to the Raspberries and Blues Traveler. It was the kind of blog I expect to be writing in the 2020's once my new music coverage dwindles. That month, I vent, once again, on how current popular music has gone downhill. While national publications are lauding this music giving it a lot of kudos, I pretty much complain about the sameness of it all. Doesn't anyone take chances anymore? In April, Fitz & the Tantrums' "Santa Stole My Lady" finally dropped off the SNS 100, and for the first time since February 2013, the band couldn't be found at all on the chart.
MAY: I talked about the many artists from New Jersey, past and present, as the latest inductees entered our dear state's Hall of Fame. Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Disco queen Gloria Gaynor, and Little Steven Van Zant from the E Street Band were the musical acts getting in....we take a cruise to the Bahamas. It was a nice time in spite of so-so weather, but the music heard, mostly new pop, doesn't hit with me, although I did hear Alice Merton's "No Roots" several times, strengthening that song's presence.
JUNE: and once again, I'm weeks behind so I did six blogs that month, including the rest of May (I could be excused for that; we went on a cruise to the Bahamas, and returned to my annual Roscoe camping trip that month). But in June, some of us flocked down the shore to Martell's Tiki Bar in Point Pleasant Beach and had an enjoyable day. For me, that included the music being piped in. Kungs' "This Girl" from 2016 came on, although I had never heard the song. It would become a chart topper on SNS and one of the big songs of the summer....two of my favorite local bands, Staten Island's Hegazy, and Long Island's "Off guard", come out with EP's that month....Dan Ingram, probably one of the best (if not the best) DJ's ever on Top 40 radio, who I grew up with, passes. Listening to his many air checks just took me back. He was a genius in my humble opinion..
JULY: What I missed most about music was that it would remind me of various events. It's what I had tried to do with this blog, but it's a hard time to have new music going thru my head when what you hear is either oldies or bland pop. So I usually have to rely what goes on in my head. The highlight of the month was the annual Berkshire Geobash up in Massachusetts, centering on my other love, geocaching. The event, which did feature a live band Thursday night at the state museum in North Adams, was able to plant three songs in my head: Kungs' 'This Girl", Nick Waterhouse's "Straight Love Affair" and Neko Case's "Bad Luck". The kicker: Only the Case song was from a 2018 album. But they stuck, and it's now what I relate the songs to........Weezer debuts with an unlikely cover song: Toto's 1982 hit, "Africa"....Great to see a new St. Paul & the Broken Bones album, Sea of Noise. "Apollo" would eventually hit the top spot here.
AUGUST: This month we celebrated two anniversaries: The 8th anniversary of Scenes 'n' Soundwaves, and more importantly, the 60th anniversary of Billboard's Hot 100. During the first week of the month, Sirius XM radio played all 1,077 number one songs in chronological order, from Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" onwards to Drake's "In My Feelings"....in response, I printed my own list of my SNS blog list toppers, which numbered 135 at the time, from The Black Keys' "Tighten Up" to St. Paul & the Broken Bones' "Apollo", and made an iPod playlist.....speaking of Sirius XM, Carolina Beach Music returns to the "Carolina Shag" channel for the last half of the month until Labor Day, with some undiscovered old gems and even a new song, James Hunter Six's "I Don't Wanna Be Without You", which shoots up my chart rapidly........And another sad passing: We lose Aretha Franklin, the "Queen of Soul", I review all her accomplishments and her impact, not only on me, but my late Mom, who loved her music and always told her to "sing it out" whenever her songs were on the radio.
SEPTEMBER: While Billboard proclaimed "In My Feelings" as the "song of the summer",I, continuing my invisibility on my musical tastes, give the honors to Neko Case's, "Bad Luck". Back in the day, namely 2009 before my blog, a friend pointed out that I had overlooked her album that year. This time, it came and went without notice, but the song did go thru my head all summer, including, as previously mentioned, at the Berkshire Geobash I attended.....Burt Reynolds passes, and I take a look at some of the music associated with his movies......Another cool song that I added last month, "Keep Lying", by Donna Missal, storms up the chart and begins a five week reign at number one. While trying to find out about her (she doesn't have a Wikipedia page), I discover she's from New Jersey. What I would soon find out, is that she's a niece of one of my friends. She stays on the playlist of alt-rocker WEQX for months, and opens up for name acts, but sadly, the song doesn't make the Billboard charts. However, I got a lot of positive feedback when I posted the song......two other Jersey acts, Real Estate, which returns to my list after five years, and Spinn, who we saw at a food truck festival in Chester, enter the chart....another "local" fave, Hazelton PA's Shannon Marsyada, makes a return to my list with "Tough Girl". I re-friend her on Facebook, and discover she has a new album and is financing it on Kickstarter. She would eventually meet her goal.
OCTOBER: I get a renewed interest in new music as some dynamite songs crowd the top of my blog list. Songs by Donna Missal, Elle King, James Hunter Six, The Revivalists, Real Estate, King Princess, Nick Waterhouse, and Curtis Harding start crowding the Top Ten, enabling me to put the oldies away once again.......The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces the list of candidates for induction. Of course, the act that I figured wouldn't get in, The Zombies, from the original British Invasion era, does get in. But more importantly, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, The Cure, among others, do make it in......Billboard's Alternative Songs chart, formerly Modern Rock Tracks, turns 30, and I take a look at that chart's history. The genre (and radio format) had survived some tumultuous years, as well as a rap-rock and nu-metal hijacking, and is doing well these days in spite of tepid response to the pop arena. I take a look at all of alt-rock's forms during those thirty years.....One of my favorite bands of the decade, Florence + the Machine are back with a new album, High as Hope.....A local favorite, Matthew Koma just doesn't like to sleep. The artist/producer in the techno-dance field forms an alt-rock band, Winnetka Bowling League, the first single, "On the 5" marches up the list.
NOVEMBER: Imagine Dragons, one of the few alt-rock oriented bands that crosses over frequently to the pop charts, finally does the same on SNS and has their first bona-fide hit with me, "Natural", which would eventually hit my top five.....after staying current with the blog for two months, I fall behind again. In part, it's because I went away for Thanksgiving down in Florida, but upon return, I let my computer get hacked, causing me to not have access to my spreadsheets that I use for the blog. I wind up getting a new computer, as well as my files back, but then have a problem with my iTunes library as it wasn't backed up. By the time I get back online and restore the songs from my iPod, and then update and sync the libraries with my device, it's already mid December.
DECEMBER: Rather than combine weeks, I spend a good chunk of the week, doing five weeks of blogging and adding new songs on my list. I describe how I got scammed and hacked....the season's upon us, and of course, I add several songs, including seasonal entries by Sia, Eric Clapton, Straight No Chaser, and Lindsay Sterling. But the show-stealer is Katy Perry's "Cozy Little Christmas" which is all over the airwaves beginning in November; the song would top my chart (more on that below).......A big controversy swells regarding the 1940's song "Baby It's Cold Outside" as a Cleveland radio station yanks it from their playlist, apparently to do lyrics such as "what's in this drink" and the insistence that the man prevents the woman from leaving his home. Other stations follow suit, but the public is overwhelming supporting the song and some of the stations return it to the air.......As the year ends, the blog support had decreased: Where I had gotten over one hundred views for topics like Dan Ingram's and Aretha Franklin's passing, as well as my 60th anniversary tribute of the Hot 100, I only could muster nine views for my blog on the "Baby It's Cold Outside" controversy.
CURRENTS: As mentioned above, Katy Perry's "Cozy Little Christmas" grabs the top spot in the final regular blog of 2018. It's the second Christmas song to top the list, following The Killers' 2013 entry "I Feel It In My Bones". That song set a record for quickest ascent to the top---3 weeks---tied subsequently by Fitz & the Tantrums' "Out of My League", and Adele's "Hello". "Cozy Little Christmas" took five weeks to make it to the summit. Unlike the Killers track, Perry's has been all over the radio, it stands at #2 at Adult Contemporary, and is played regularly on the "Holly" channel on Sirius XM as well as Amazon's "Holiday Favorites" playlist. It's sort of a mild comeback for Perry, who had a big run of hits from 2007 until roughly 2014. Her songs were always hit or miss with me; "Firework" and "Last Friday Night" hit top three on my list, while other songs like "E.T." were basically unlistenable.
"Cozy Little Christmas" clicks with me because it has a bit of a throwback sound. It has a bouncy beat that echoes Carolina Beach Music but with a retro-pop flair which is perfect for the holidays. While I am not an overt fan of Perry these days, she, like Miley Cyrus' "Malibu" last year, came out with a gem of a song.
Sia's "Candy Cane Lane" also enters into the top 20 this week with a similar beat; it follows last year "Santa's Comin' For Us". My question then would be: Why can't artists have hits like these during the year? Looking back at pop music going back to the 1950's and it's artistry, what can't we have a return? Or at least the new styles having a semblance of soul like these two songs have? Sia is an artist that I've sorely overlooked in the past; she's had some good songs out that I never added; perhaps it's time to check out her releases.
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats drop to the runner up spot with "Coolin' Out". They also enter with the final holiday entry this year, their version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" in a duet with Julie Davis. Not to worry though; the roles are reversed in this 2017 version of the song. Rateliff, however, upon hearing the news of the controversy surrounding the song in the wake of #MeToo, agreed that it could be offensive. Caroline Rose drops to #3 with "Jeannie Becomes A Mom". Two alt-rock crossovers do make the Hot 100's top 5: Panic! At the Disco's "High Hopes" is at #5 there, while advancing to #7 here; at #4 is Marshmello and Bastille's "Happier" advances to #30 on SNS. The two songs rank 1-2 on the Adult Top 40 list, and 1-3 on the alternative chart.
THE CHRISTMAS CLASSIC INVASION? Probably the biggest surprise on the Hot 100 this month is the invasion of classic Christmas songs in the upper regions. Mariah Carey's perennial "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is at a lofty #6 on the Hot 100! If that wasn't enough, Andy Williams, who hasn't had a big hit since 1971's "Love Story" is at #13 with his classic, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Close behind at #15 is "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms. Also permeating the upper regions of the big chart are Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (#18), Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (#21); Nat 'King' Cole's "Christmas Song" (#24); Gene Autry's classic "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" (#27); Wham!'s "Last Christmas" (#31); Dean Martin's "Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow" (#32); Ronettes' "Sleigh Ride" (#41) and Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" (#42).
While stations have been playing these classics for decades, this is the biggest invasion of holiday songs on the Hot 100 ever. My question is, are more radio stations playing these songs? Or are people buying and streaming these songs. And if they are, does that mean they are tired of the same, repetitive, sparse-beated pop songs of the past five years or so, and are thirsty for "real music". This year's hits, such as the above-mentioned "Cozy Little Christmas" and John Legend's #1 Adult Contemporary hit version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" are not even on the Hot 100. I guess the answer will lie in what becomes popular in 2019.
WHAT TO DO: During my "blackout" period and song recovery, I added songs based on whether there is a video available. Normally, the requirement was that a song had to be available as a digital download. In this age of streaming, it's possible that it may not be possible; luckily it hasn't been a factor yet. However one song that I added, Shannon Marsyada's "Oceans", which will be the title track from her forthcoming album (funded via KickStarter), isn't available as a download, and won't be, according to Shannon, until its spring release. That means, or course, I won't be able to include the song in my "currents" playlist for a few more months. With the song firmly entrenched in my top 10, it's caused an area for concern: Do I keep the song on the list, as a "paper add", or remove it entirely, re-adding it when it get released? Right now, I've substituted her 2015 top tenner "The Ends of Me" in its place, but a decision will have to be made. Regardless, it may have cost her a #1 song for now, but we shall see.
WRAPPING UP: This is my last regular blog of 2018. Of course, there's the annual top 100 of the year. In recent years, I've posted the list as a Facebook note rather than list it here. The list has already been made. I love looking back at the year, although this year, readers may have a hard time knowing the songs on it, with a few exceptions.
Which leads me to my dilemma. Listening to this new music has invigorated me, but sadly, I feel like I'm unable to share it with friends. Some have posted new music, usually pop songs, or alternative crossovers, but most of the time my friends have stuck to the oldies. I really don't know people who love the music I listen to; the few friends who do I rarely, if ever, hear from. It would be a great feeling to share these sounds with a friend or two. As I mentioned above, less than ten people viewed my blog on "Baby It's Cold Outside", and only two people liked it. Going into 2019, I wonder how much of my time (and I spend a lot of it on here), is worth it, for only a few people to read it.
I plan to try and reach out to people who might have an interest in new music, be it alternative, country, R&B, or melodic pop. It may mean posting new music on my Facebook timeline once again. Listening to my top 20 in the hotel back office (it's a very slow night), made me realize that the music I listen to, whether or not it's a big hit on the charts, is awesome and worth sharing. Those who constantly post that "the music today sucks" are just not looking hard enough. I've been posting my annual Christmas song countdown again, and while gems like "Baby It's Cold Outside", "All I Want For Christmas Is You", "Same Old Lang Syne" and "Winter Wonderland" grab the likes, my post of Fitz & the Tantrums--my favorite band of the 2010's---and their "Santa Stole My Lady", grabbed zero.
I will start 2019, as I stated above, reaching out. If I'm not successful, perhaps it's the end of the blog as we know it, and although I may not feel fine, I know I'll always have the songs to myself.
To each and every one of you, I wish you a very happy Holiday Season, a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
December 16, 2018
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 4 |
NUMBER ONE:
(Single Only)
|
5 |
| 2 | 1 | Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats f. Lucius - Coolin' Out | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | Caroline Rose - Jeannie Becomes a Mom | 10 |
| 4 | 6 | Shannon Marsyada - Oceans | 6 |
| 5 | 3 | Kurt Vile - Loading Zones | 12 |
| 6 | 13 | The Revivalists - You and I | 5 |
| 7 | 10 | Panic at the Disco - High Hopes | 12 |
| 8 | 7 | Greeting Committee - 17 | 12 |
| 9 | 8 | The Essex Green - Smith & 9th | 11 |
| 10 | 9 | The Revivalists - All My Friends• | 14 |
| 11 | 15 | Amy Shark - I Said Hi | 7 |
| 12 | 5 | Imagine Dragons - Natural | 13 |
| 13 | 12 | Molly Burch- Torn To Pieces | 11 |
| 14 | 11 | Real Estate - Time | 14 |
| 15 | 23 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
Album: Upside Down Flowers
|
6 |
| 16 | 20 | Cayucas - Jessica WJ | 9 |
| 17 | 17 | Weezer - Can't Knock the Hustle | 8 |
| 18 | 21 | Trapdoor Social - Hold Me Down | 9 |
| 19 | 32 | Sia - Candy Cane Lane | 4 |
| 20 | 22 | Kitten - Pink Champagne | 8 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more
plays on my iPod.
The “Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100” is a list
of current and recent song playlist which I am listening to.
